Air France has introduced a new Short Connection Pass at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, offering passengers with limited transfer times priority access through security and border control. The initiative, launched in August 2025 in partnership with Groupe ADP, aims to ensure smoother onward travel for customers facing tight connections.
And while Air France’s flight schedule is optimized to ensure smooth connections for both passengers and their baggage, unforeseen circumstances can sometimes reduce the available time for passengers to transfer between flights.
Now, when a connection time falls below a certain threshold (for example, 45 minutes for a connection between Toulouse and New York JFK, arriving at Terminal 2F and departing from Terminal 2E Hall K), a priority process is automatically triggered for the affected passengers—without any action required on their part.
Under the system, eligible passengers are informed no later than upon arrival of their inbound flight at Paris-Charles de Gaulle that, due to limited time to reach their next boarding gate, they qualify for priority access at security and border control. The notification is sent via text message and email, with delivery through the Air France mobile app and WhatsApp to be added soon.
At the security and border control checkpoints, the passenger’s boarding pass is scanned, automatically alerting Groupe ADP’s service provider of the short connection. Priority access is then granted to facilitate a faster transfer.
The objective is to reduce time spent at checkpoints and help passengers reach their boarding gates within the available connection window.
The system operates through real-time information sharing between Air France, Groupe ADP, and its service provider. The shared data includes the estimated walking time through the airport, the time required to complete security screening and border formalities along with current wait times at those points, and the updated departure time of the connecting flight.
This initiative, named the “Short Connection Pass” is the first concrete implementation of Connect France.
“One month after signing Connect France, this initiative perfectly illustrates our shared ambition with the Air France-KLM Group: to streamline passenger flows and make Paris-Charles de Gaulle an even more efficient and attractive hub. The Short Connection Pass is simple for passengers and operationally effective, a real step forward in improving the travel experience,” said Regis Lacote, Executive Vice-President of Operations & Innovation – Director of Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.
“Supporting our customers and making their journey easier is a top priority. Air France’s hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport is already the most powerful in Europe in terms of available connection opportunities. Thanks to this joint initiative with Groupe ADP, we are further strengthening its appeal and reaffirming our ambition to position Paris-Charles de Gaulle among the world’s leading hubs,” stated Alain-Hervé Bernard, Executive Vice President of Operations and Cargo at Air France.
